Plates are priced from as little as $6.50 to $14 and come with a recommendation for a matching wine.

The style of the new Vintner’s Kitchen is deliberately casual, with visitors invited to relax at mismatched farm kitchen tables while perusing the daily changing clipboard menu. They’re also welcome to wander around looking at the kitchen goods, pantry ingredients and products for sale.

“We’ll also offer ‘pick up’ snacks for cyclists who would like to take their lunch to enjoy the Central Otago landscape and eat ‘al fresco’,” said Mr Hunt.

In tandem with the opening of the Vintner’s Kitchen, a Chef’s Pantry area enables visitors to take home items that have come straight from Chef Sage’s winery kitchen, such as his own-recipe spice rubs, biscotti, oils, jams, marinated fruits and vegetables and ‘secret recipe’ sauces.

“The range has been created from signature dishes available in the restaurant and Vintner’s Kitchen, so guests can take items home and replicate favourite meals or flavours,” said Mr Hunt. “To help with that, the Chef’s Pantry also sells recipe cards for some of the more intricate dishes.

“Our award-winning wine and food products, cave tours, location, close proximity to Queenstown and Arrowtown and easy road access with ample parking make Gibbston Valley Winery a very popular ‘one-stop’ choice for visitors.”

Gibbston Valley Winery is home to New Zealand’s largest and innovative wine cave, available for wine tours, private functions, weddings and special occasions and the Barrel Room for C&I functions and weddings. It recently launched a new tasting room in Arrowtown, located in the historic BNZ building on the main street.